REVIEW article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Positive Psychology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1540566
Adaptive Value of Positive Illusions: Coping with Adversity and Improving Relationships
Provisionally accepted
- School of Psychology, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, Henan Province, China
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The concept of positive illusions is rooted in positive psychology, and is essential for maintaining individual physical and mental health. This study primarily discusses the adaptive value of positive illusions from two perspectives: adversity response and relationship improvement. As a positive cognition, positive illusions can promote the fight against disease and accelerate the psychological recovery after traumatic events. They can also beautify the impression of others through positive projection, thereby helping in establishing positive, stable, and harmonious interpersonal relationships. Future research should expand the adaptive value of positive illusions in practical domains, exploring their positive roles in occupational contexts, clinical interventions, and parent-child relationships, while deepening investigations into their underlying brain mechanisms.
Keywords: Positive illusion, adaption, adversity response, relationship improvement, happiness
Received: 06 Dec 2024; Accepted: 22 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Chen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Hongyan Chen, School of Psychology, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, Henan Province, China
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